This application claims the benefit of Korean Application Nos. 98-23992, filed Jun. 24, 1998 and 98-41757, filed Oct. 2, 1998, in the Korean Patent Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to recording and/or reproducing audio and/or video data using a rewriteable recording medium, and more particularly, to a recording medium for storing still pictures and additional audio data added thereto for effective processing, and a recording and/or reproducing method and apparatus therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a connection structure for various kinds of information in a moving picture and moving picture data, in recording/reproducing audio and/or video data on a recordable and/or rewriteable recording medium, specifically, a digital versatile disk (DVD), and more precisely, it illustrates the relationship between program chain (PGC) information 11 for treating data logically, moving picture information 12 consisting of video object (VOB) information, and a moving picture data file 13 in which actually compressed audio/video (A/V) data are recorded in VOB units.
First, terms used throughout the specification will now be described. Supposing a movie was recorded in first and second parts, the overall movie is a program chain (PGC) and the first and second parts are programs. Also, each program can be defined by further dividing the same into several cells called sub-units. The information in each cell can wholly or partially define a video object (VOB). In such an event, each cell is used as a basic accessing unit during reproduction, and the program and PGC are only the information for connectivity between a plurality of cells.
Also, since data is actually sub-divided into videos object units (VOBUs) and recorded in a moving picture data file, the VOB information consists of various kinds of information relating to the VOBU data, that is, VOBU #1, VOBU #2, . . . and the VOB data in the moving picture data file 13 is accessed by the VOB information. Here, the VOB data is used as a random access unit of a disk recording/reproducing apparatus. The VOBU is based on a single GOP (Group of Pictures) in the case of an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) video, and audio data corresponding to video data is collected, that is, A/V data is multiplexed into sectors, to constitute a VOBU.
The data format shown in FIG. 1 is concerned with the moving picture, in which the unit of actual data, the VOB, comprises moving picture data for a fixed period of time. Synchronization or encoding of A/V signals is performed in units of VOBs. However, in the case of a still picture, each VOB constitutes a still picture. When a VOB is designated in a cell structure, a cell is necessary for each still picture. Thus, as more still pictures are recorded, more information is added.
Generally, data errors may be generated if data is recorded on a recordable disk a predetermined number of times. Thus, there is a limit in the number of times of rewriting data on a disk. All information is stored in the memory of a controller for controlling the system for the purpose of limiting the number of recording times and rapidly accessing data. However, as described above, in the case of a still picture, if the amount of information is increased, much time is required for reading the information. Also, there is a limit to the amount of information that can be stored in a memory with a limited size. Accordingly, it is not possible to record a large-capacity still picture.
To solve the above problems, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a recording medium for effectively storing information for a large-capacity still picture by grouping the large-capacity still pictures and storing the information for the still picture groups.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a recording medium for arranging still picture group information consisting of video information for a still picture and video and audio information for a still picture having original audio data added thereto in the recording order of recorded bitstreams and storing the same.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a recording medium for recording additional audio data added to a still picture data and storing additional audio group information for grouping the recorded additional audio data to manage the same.
It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a method of recording still picture group information for grouping large-capacity still pictures to manage the same, and reproduction-related cell information, and reproducing a still picture in accordance with the recorded information.
It is fifth object of the present invention to provide a method of recording still picture group information consisting of video information for a still picture and video and audio information for a still picture having original audio data added thereto, and reproduction-related cell information, and reproducing a still picture or a still picture having original audio data added thereto.
It is sixth object of the present invention to provide a method of recording still picture group information, additional audio group information for after-recording and reproduction-related cell information, and reproducing a still picture, a still picture having original audio data added thereto, or a still picture having additional audio data added thereto in accordance with the recorded information.
It is seventh object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for recording still picture group information for grouping large-capacity still pictures and managing the same, additional audio group information for after-recording separately from the still picture group information, and reproduction-related cell information, and reproducing a still picture, a still picture having original audio data added thereto, or a still picture having additional audio data added thereto in accordance with the recorded information.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
To achieve these objects, there is provided a recording medium including a first region having a plurality of still picture data, a second region having a plurality of additional audio data added to the still picture data, and a third region having information indicating the connectivity between the still picture data in the first region and the additional audio data in the second region.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of recording and/or reproducing audio and/or video data on a recordable and/or rewriteable recording medium including (a) recording a plurality of still pictures, (b) separating the plurality of still pictures into within a predetermined maximum number of groups and recording still picture group information and playback information related to reproduction, (c) recording additional audio data added to a desired still picture in a separate area, after the plurality of still pictures are recorded, and (d) recording additional audio group information for separating the additional audio data into within a predetermined maximum number of groups in order to manage the additional audio data at a group level, and information indicative of the additional audio data corresponding to the desired still picture, wherein the information indicative of the additional audio data is included in the still picture group information.
The method according to the present invention may further include (e) reading the still picture group information to be reproduced in accordance with the playback information, (f) calculating the position of a desired still picture in accordance with the read still picture group information and reproducing the still picture data located at the calculated position, and (g) if the information indicative of an additional audio group is present in the read still picture group information, calculating the position of the additional audio data for the corresponding still picture in accordance with the additional audio group information and reproducing the corresponding additional audio data.
In a reproduction method of a recording medium comprising a first region having data for a plurality of still pictures, a second region having data for a plurality of additional audio data added to the still pictures, and a third region having information indicating the connectivity between the still picture data in the first region and the additional audio data in the second region, the reproduction method includes reproducing the still picture data in the first region and the additional audio data added to the still picture data, based on the connectivity information in the third region.
The apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording processor for signal-processing a plurality of still picture data to be recorded in a first region of the recording medium and signal-processing a plurality of additional audio data added to the still picture data to be recorded in a second region of the recording medium, and a controller to generate connectivity information indicative of the connectivity between the still picture data in the first region and the additional audio data in the second region, and playback information related to the reproduction order, and to control the same to be recorded in a third region.
Also, the apparatus may further include a playback processor for signal-processing the still picture data in the first region and the additional audio data added to the still picture data to be reproduced based on the information in the third region.